preparing for surgery

One week later. Scheduled for a one week post op and second surgery. Depending on how your eye heals, your personal preference and the difference between your eyes, surgeries can be scheduled 1-3 weeks or further apart. I was fortunate to be 1 week.

I have noticed a lot of struggle between my new eye and the other one this past week. It felt like the new eye was doing about 90% of the work and the old one was trying to keep up. Those floaters from the medication last week? They were gone 3 days after surgery. What was really cool was turning on my side to read in bed without my glasses getting in the way!

The halos are much smaller around lights, more something I observe but not causing any difficulty, All in all, it’s been a great week between surgeries!

My one week check up was great. Healing well, seeing 20/20 without correction. My biggest hobby is sewing quilt tops, so I’ve asked my surgeon to set my lens power for reading or “near” vision to help me with my hand sewing.

My surgical experience was every bit as good as the first time. I even slept a bit before and during! I still don’t remember a great deal of what went on in the OR… and I can say that because I know what happens since I work there! The medication in my eye this time is more like a cloud over the outside half of my vision. I had a foreign body sensation which I knew was the incision from surgery, and artificial tears took care of that.

I’ll check in again tomorrow and let you know how I am with the dilation gone. I’m still ecstatic with my surgery. I’m very proud to be a part of the Team at The Harman Eye Clinic. It’s a blessing to help others with improving their vision, and I’m one of many staff members who have experienced the benefit of various procedures we can do. iLASIK, Refractive Lens Exchange, Cataract surgery with an assortment of lens options. It’s all good!

Prepare for your encounters with your doctor.

More and more medical offices are offering an on-line connection with private medical charting. At The Harman Eye Clinic in Arlington WA, we encourage patients to login to a secure online website to access personal health information from anywhere with an internet connection, and at any time of the day or night. Our staff will help you set this up during a phone call.

Even more important is the ability to supply your doctor with information PRIOR to your visit. Patients can register any time; most patients register when they schedule their appointment. You are able to enter information such as:

Your medications with dosage and strength

Your past medical history

Insurance information and any recent changes in your patient demographics.

At The Harman Eye Clinic in Arlington WA, the Patient Portal records are your medical records This means that when you want your medical records, you no longer need to request them. They are always within reach.

What about cataract consultations?

As you may know, every medical surgery comes with a list of risks and benefits and it becomes the patient’s responsibility to become sufficiently informed in order to give their consent. If you first learn at your appointment that you are a candidate for cataract surgery, it can be stressful.

A way patients can make their consultation more meaningful is to watch the Informed Consent Video before they see their surgeon. At The Harman Eye Clinic in Arlington, WA, patients are encouraged to watch the video and learn about the different options in lens implants. Patients print out the quiz for their visit. They cut off about 15 minutes of their exam by watching this at home.

Best though, is the fact that when you finally meet up with your surgeon after numerous diagnostic measurements and testing, you will better understand your surgeon’s recommendation. It makes for a much more satisfying encounter. We recommend that if you are considering cataract surgery, you watch this video prior to coming to your consultation. You will be glad you did.